Changes

==Early Coinage==

==Early Coinage==

It is widely believed that the first currency to be produced in Japan was minted in the Wadô era (708-715), an era named after the discovery of copper in [[Musashi province]] (Wadô 和銅 literally means "Japanese copper"). These coins, with a face value of one ''mon'', were based on the ''kai yuan tong bao'' (開元通宝) coinage then circulating in [[Tang Dynasty]] China. These small round coins with square holes in the middle would serve as the standard model for the shape or form of coins in both China and Japan for many centuries. Recent discoveries since the 1990s, however, have unearthed earlier, unlabeled (''mumon'' 無文) silver coins, as well as coins known as ''fuhonsen'' 富本銭. The latter seem to have emerged in the 680s, during the period of [[Fujiwara-kyo|Fujiwara-kyô]]; in contrast to the ''mumon ginsen'' which were valued by their actual weight in silver, and which [[Emperor Temmu]] outlawed in [[683]], the ''fuhonsen'' were fiat money (face value).

It was long believed that the first currency to be produced in Japan was minted in the Wadô era (708-715), an era named after the discovery of copper in [[Musashi province]] (Wadô 和銅 literally means "Japanese copper"). These coins, with a face value of one ''mon'', were based on the ''kai yuan tong bao'' (開元通宝) coinage then circulating in [[Tang Dynasty]] China, and were minted in order to pay laborers for their work in building the new capital of [[Heijo-kyo|Heijô-kyô]].<ref name=britishmuseum>Gallery labels, British Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/47588044022/sizes/k/]</ref> These small round coins with square holes in the middle would serve as the standard model for the shape or form of coins in both China and Japan for many centuries. Recent discoveries since the 1990s, however, have unearthed earlier, unlabeled (''mumon'' 無文) silver coins, as well as coins known as ''fuhonsen'' 富本銭. The latter seem to have emerged in the 680s, during the period of [[Fujiwara-kyo|Fujiwara-kyô]]; in contrast to the ''mumon ginsen'' which were valued by their actual weight in silver, and which [[Emperor Temmu]] outlawed in [[683]], the ''fuhonsen'' were fiat money (face value).

After the so-called Wadô kaihô ("Wadô coins"), other currencies continued to be produced until the mid-10th century, each named after the [[Imperial reign era]] in which they were produced. These included the Mannen tsûhô, Jinkô kaihô, Ryûhei eihô, Fûju shinpô, Shôwa shôhô, Chônen taihô, Jôeki shinpô, Jôgan eihô, Kanpyô taihô, and Engi tsûhô.<ref>Kobata. p98n1.</ref>  

After the so-called Wadô kaihô ("Wadô coins"), other currencies continued to be produced until [[958]]. Known as the "Twelve Imperial Coinages" (皇朝十二銭, ''kôchô jûnisen''), each was named after the [[Japanese Eras|Imperial reign era]] in which they were produced.<ref>Richard von Glahn, "The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150-1350," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 74:2 (2014), 256.</ref> These included the Mannen tsûhô, Jinkô kaihô, Ryûhei eihô, Fûju shinpô, Shôwa shôhô, Chônen taihô, Jôeki shinpô, Jôgan eihô, Kanpyô taihô, and Engi tsûhô.<ref>Kobata. p98n1.</ref>  

Coinage at this time was used only by the aristocracy or religious elites, while the rest of the population functioned on a barter system in which value or buying power tended to be expressed in terms of silk, cloth, or rice.<ref>When a good was used as payment, its value was often counted in terms of ''jun-kinu''　準絹, ''jun-nuno'' 準布, or ''jun-kome'' 準米, that is, in terms of how much silk, cloth, or rice it would have been worth.</ref> One ''hiki'' 疋 of silk was generally valued as equal to one ''[[koku]]'' of rice (1 ''koku'' = 10 ''[[Japanese Measurements|to]]'' 斗 = 100 ''[[Japanese Measurements|shô]]'' 升), though this varied. Still, on average, from the [[Heian period]] through the [[Sengoku period]], one ''koku'' of rice was considered equivalent to one ''kanmon'', or 1000 ''mon'' in coins; one ''hiki'' remained steadily equivalent to ten ''mon'' of coins through the Edo period.<ref>Kobata. pp98-99.</ref> The direct association of goods, especially rice, with value, would continue through the mid-19th century; in the Edo period (1600-1868), lands would be valued in terms of their agricultural production, taxes would be paid in rice (or equivalents), and samurai would be paid their stipends in rice.

Coinage at this time was used only by the aristocracy or religious elites, and chiefly only for official court expenditures, while the rest of the population functioned on a barter system in which value or buying power tended to be expressed in terms of silk, cloth, or rice.<ref>When a good was used as payment, its value was often counted in terms of ''jun-kinu''　準絹, ''jun-nuno'' 準布, or ''jun-kome'' 準米, that is, in terms of how much silk, cloth, or rice it would have been worth.</ref> One ''hiki'' 疋 of silk was generally valued as equal to one ''[[koku]]'' of rice (1 ''koku'' = 10 ''[[Japanese Measurements|to]]'' 斗 = 100 ''[[Japanese Measurements|shô]]'' 升), though this varied. Still, on average, from the [[Heian period]] through the [[Sengoku period]], one ''koku'' of rice was considered equivalent to one ''kanmon'', or 1000 ''mon'' in coins; one ''hiki'' remained steadily equivalent to ten ''mon'' of coins through the Edo period.<ref>Kobata. pp98-99.</ref> The direct association of goods, especially rice, with value, would continue through the mid-19th century; in the Edo period (1600-1868), lands would be valued in terms of their agricultural production, taxes would be paid in rice (or equivalents), and samurai would be paid their stipends in rice.

These early currencies fell out of usage, however, in the tenth century. By the time of the issuing of the Engi taihô (901-923), the currency had become debased, meaning that a given coin, despite officially having a certain denomination, actually contained less precious metal than its nominal value. In other words, there was severe inflation, as a given amount of currency no longer had the value (or buying power) it once did. And so, people lost confidence in the currency, and the government stopped minting coins for a time.

The court stopped producing new coin in 958. By the time of the issuing of the ''Engi taihô'' ("Great Laws of Engi," c. [[901]]-[[923]]), the currency had become debased, meaning that a given coin, despite officially having a certain denomination, actually contained less precious metal than its nominal value. In other words, there was severe inflation, as a given amount of currency no longer had the value (or buying power) it once did. And so, people lost confidence in the currency, and the government stopped minting coins for a time. With silk, rice, and other commodities as far more widely standard, widely used, modes of exchange or measures of value, the court realized there simply was not a need - or an advantage - in making the effort and expenditures to produce hard currency. Around [[1068]]-[[1074]], the court then instituted official exchange values (''kokahô'', 沽価法) for silk, gold, rice, and certain other commodities, in order to standardize the amounts paid to the court in [[tribute]] by [[kuge|court nobles]] and others.<ref>Von Glahn, 256-257.</ref>

Several centuries later, beginning in the 12th century, [[Song dynasty]] Chinese coins began to be imported in considerable volumes, as a natural result of increased trade with China. The Northern Song, in fact, minted more copper coins than any other Chinese dynasty, and though the export of coinage from China was banned, Chinese coins nevertheless flowed throughout the East Asia region.<ref>Kobata. p98.</ref> The court noble [[Saionji Kintsune]] alone is known to have imported as much as 100,000 ''kan'' of Song coins, enough to fund the construction of a dozen or more buildings. Song coins circulated so widely that as early as 1240 the [[Kamakura shogunate]] had reversed its various bans on the usage of cash, permitting its use everywhere but in the northernmost provinces.<ref>Kang, David C. “Hierarchy in Asian International Relations: 1300-1900.” Asian Security 1, no. 1 (2005), 65.</ref>

Several centuries later, beginning in the 12th century, [[Song dynasty]] Chinese coins began to be imported in considerable volumes, as a natural result of increased trade with China, and increased market desire for a convenient currency. The Northern Song, in fact, minted more copper coins than any other Chinese dynasty, and though the export of coinage from China was banned, Chinese coins nevertheless flowed throughout the East Asia region.<ref>Kobata. p98.</ref> The court noble [[Saionji Kintsune]] alone is known to have imported as much as 100,000 ''kan'' of Song coins, enough to fund the construction of a dozen or more buildings. However, this great influx of Chinese coins caused the prices (or values) of rice, silk, and certain other commodities to drop, disrupting the ''kokahô'' system and having a significant and negative impact on court revenues and landholding aristocrats' wealth.<ref>von Glahn, 258.</ref> The court banned the use of coin in [[1193]], but once the end of the [[Genpei War]] brought peace and greater inter-regional economic integration (thus diminishing troublesome regional disparities in exchange values), the [[Kamakura shogunate]] reversed these bans in [[1226]].<ref>von Glahn, 259.</ref>

==Muromachi Period and Ming Trade==

==Muromachi Period and Ming Trade==

*2-3 ''ryô'' - the cost of hiring a maid for a year (i.e. the income made by a maid in a year)

*2-3 ''ryô'' - the cost of hiring a maid for a year (i.e. the income made by a maid in a year)

*4 ''ryô'' - the cost of a print imported from Europe<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', 325.</ref>

*4 ''ryô'' - the cost of a print imported from Europe<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', 325.</ref>

*6 ''ryô'' - a typical annual wage for a laborer<ref name=screech/><ref name=obtaining/>

*6 ''ryô'' - a typical annual wage for a laborer.<ref name=screech/><ref name=obtaining/> There does not seem to have been a large disparity in wages between male and female workers.<ref>Rebecca Corbett, ''Cultivating Femininity: Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2018), 121.</ref>

*6 to 10 ''ryô'' - the fee to commission a major artist for a single set of lavish ''byôbu'' (folding screen) paintings; could be as much as even 40 ''ryô'' depending.<ref name=screech/>

*6 to 10 ''ryô'' - the fee to commission a major artist for a single set of lavish ''byôbu'' (folding screen) paintings; could be as much as even 40 ''ryô'' depending.<ref name=screech/>

*10 ''ryô'' - the cost of a first visit to a [[Yoshiwara]] establishment, including tips for the ''[[nakai]]'' and ''[[taikomochi]]''.<ref>Segawa Seigle, Cecelia. ''Yoshiwara''. University of Hawaii Press, 1993.</ref>

*10 ''ryô'' - the cost of a first visit to a [[Yoshiwara]] establishment, including tips for the ''[[nakai]]'' and ''[[taikomochi]]''.<ref>Segawa Seigle, Cecelia. ''Yoshiwara''. University of Hawaii Press, 1993.</ref>

==Meiji Period==

==Meiji Period==

The [[Meiji government]] began printing its own money almost immediately, in [[1868]]. These first notes were called ''Dajôkansatsu'', after the [[Dajokan|Dajôkan]] (Imperial Council of State). A new Currency Act was passed in [[1871]], establishing the [[yen]] as the core denomination of currency. The first national bank notes to feature a person's portrait depicted [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], and came out in [[1881]].<ref name=currencymuseum/>

The [[Meiji government]] began printing its own money almost immediately, in [[1868]]. These first notes were called ''Dajôkansatsu'', after the [[Dajokan|Dajôkan]] (Imperial Council of State). A new Currency Act was passed in [[1871]], establishing the [[yen]] as the core denomination of currency. The first national bank notes to feature a person's portrait depicted [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], and came out in [[1881]].<ref name=currencymuseum/> The first one-yen coin was quite large by today's standards, possibly in emulation of the standard size of the internationally standard [[Spanish dollar|trade dollar]].<ref name=onaga>Conversation with Onaga Yoshiaki 翁長良明 of Narumi-dô antiques shop, Naha, Okinawa.</ref> The one-yen coin used today is dramatically smaller in size, and dramatically smaller in value (in terms of real purchasing power), due to inflation and other economic shifts over the years. Made of aluminum, it is made to be precisely two centimeters in diameter and one gram in weight.<ref name=onaga/>

The [[Bank of Japan]] was established in [[1882]], and issued its first notes in [[1885]]; these notes, known as ''Daikoku satsu'', featured images of [[Daikoku]], one of the [[Seven Lucky Gods]]. A Coinage Law passed in [[1897]] set the economy onto the gold standard.<ref name=currencymuseum/>

The [[Bank of Japan]] was established in [[1882]], and issued its first notes in [[1885]]; these notes, known as ''Daikoku satsu'', featured images of [[Daikoku]], one of the [[Seven Lucky Gods]]. A Coinage Law passed in [[1897]] set the economy onto the gold standard.<ref name=currencymuseum/>

==References==

==References==